October 4, 2010

ØWhy Bookies Wear Bling. At kickoff yesterday, I think it's fair to say 90-plus percent of Redskins fans and media had effectively written the stumbling, 1-2 team off. With the Eagles, Packers, Colts and Bears on tap, I suspect 75-plus percent would have bet even money the Redskins would emerge from that gauntlet 1-6. It's a damn good thing most of don't actually place bets.

ØI've said it before, I'll say it again. Even at probably 80-90 percent of the player he was five years ago, quarterback Donovan McNabb is better by orders of magnitude than anyone the Redskins have had masquerading as a legitimate NFL quarterback for a very long time. McNabb is a professional NFL quarterback. He gives his team a chance to win, and he will win games for the Redskins with his arm, legs, brain and leadership.

The man is also going to get better. Maybe a lot better. Let him actually learn the offense (two years per Shanahan, remember?), get his legitimate left tackle back, maybe even have a legitimate number one wide receiver to throw to (anyone want to care to wager the team enters 2011 without one?), and apparently serious comments suggesting the man is just another Patrick Ramsey or Jason Campbell will be relegated to even the most cynical fans' dustbin.

And a few quick things we know:

ØCoffee and breakfast tasted a whole lot better this morning than a week ago.

ØThe Redskins passing game will show flashes of Thunderbird brilliance. In the first half. In the second not so much...ØCornerback Carlos Rogers will flat out drop an interception that hits him square in both hands. Probably with the game on the line.

ØFullback Mike Sellers will catch a flare pass out of the backfield, turn upfield, see 190 pound defenders closing and try to levitate his 270 pounds over them. He will fail. The ball may or may not stay in his hands when his 270 pounds tumbles resoundingly to earth. My lunch may or may not stay in my stomach. Redskins coaches will continue to be mesmerized by this bizarre ballet and ensure it happens again next week.

ØLeft tackle Trent Williams will report to duty. Please.

ØOffensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will get better at making halftime adjustments. I mean, he almost has to, right?

ØLinebacker Brian Orakpo may be on his way to becoming the NFL's all-time Being Held leader. If and when referees get comfortable with that fact, they may actually start whistling more than one in five of them.

ØAt 2-2 overall, 2-0 in the NFC East and one-quarter of the way into the 2010 season, the Washington Redskins are very much alive in any playoff consideration—in a transition year where there should be no expectations of such. Smile. It's allowed.

ØLet There Be Light. Last week The Om Field wore black for the first time. Your humble scribe was sick and tired of the losing and felt the need to render a futile gesture.

From now on, when the Redskins record dips below .500, this space, like the burgundy and gold aspect of its author's heart, will wear black. When, like this morning, we wake up to find a world in which the Redskins are .500 or better, there will be light.

Why white at .500, you ask? Because this man's glass is always half full.